She was tired, she was so tired but it wasn't over yet
by ramblin woman
Summary: Stella ends the workday with Reed and a glass of whiskey - Stella Gibson / Reed Smith (I don't own these characters)
She was tired, she was so tired but it wasn't over yet. This day had a little strength left in it and the Superintendent was sure it would end in a heap on that lumpy office camp bed. Nothing new there, she supposed.

The funny thing was that through all of it, the gunshots, the blood, the broken humanity, she couldn't help but smile at the thought of seeing Reed again. Funnier still was that this thought held true even if their next encounter were to be over the body of a woman whose heart should still be beating. Really, it wasn't funny at all.

But that's what it is to be alive, she mused. To carry on. To be with the person you want closest to you. To feel their skin, to breathe them in. To place your lips so lightly on the side of their neck the anticipation might just paralyse you both…

She shook her head. Now was not the time. It was 11.45pm and she needed Reed's autopsy results before she needed anything else. Yes, that's what she needed.

Before she knew it, her feet had walked her into the morgue and she was standing just feet away from the pathologist.

"Stella" the other woman half whispered, half croaked. Clearing her throat she smiled. "It's been a long day, and I think you might be the first person I've said a word to in more than five hours."

"Mm, somehow that doesn't sound like a bad thing. If only I could have avoided Jim for so long." Stella replied with a nearly imperceptible raising of her left eyebrow.

Reed took a few steps closer and, carefully laying a hand on Stella's right arm, she smiled. At that moment, she suddenly realised that Stella was there for the results and her hand dropped back to her side.

"Let me grab that file for you. I don't want to keep you waiting any longer than you need to. You must be desperate for sleep."

"Oh I don't know, how can I miss what I've never had?" Stella smiled wearily.

"I can see how a person might." Reed said quietly as she walked into the next room.

Just seconds later, she came back and handed over the folder, noticing how Stella seemed to be making a point of staring right into her eyes as she took it from her.

The DCI flipped it open, scanning for something, anything, that stood out but somehow had neither the energy nor the inclination to find it. Not with Reed less than an arms' length away pretending to do the same thing, so she flipped it shut.

Looking up at Reed she said "Shall we grab a drink? I think I need to be away from all of this until tomorrow."

Much surer than she had been the night Spector had invaded Stella's room, Reed nodded her ascent and went to grab her coat. When she came back, she was holding her bike helmet.

"Do you have a spare?" Stella asked.

"Ah, you really do need a break. Yeah I do, it's with my bike."

Outside, the air feels cool and clean, and for what felt like the first time in weeks, Stella really breathed. She felt suspended for a moment or two, alive and without pressure from anywhere. She was just being.

Reed watched her, fascinated to the point where she thought she may actually be orbiting the beautiful creature in front of her. But she wasn't, she was staring, and Stella seemed to be staring back.

Reed opened up the case on the back of her bike and grabbed the other helmet, diverting her eyes both reluctantly and with a certain degree of relief.

Taking a couple of steps toward the bike and it's leatherbound owner, Stella took the helmet and pulled it on. She nodded to Reed and they both seemed to get on the bike at the same time, as if the three components had been designed deliberately to fit together. As the engine started, Stella slid her hands around Reed's waist and leaned into her back.

If only more days would end this way, she thought.

After a while, it could have been minutes or hours but definitely not quite long enough, they pulled up in front of an old pub, one that seemed busy enough to remain open for a few more hours.

Inside, everything was a little dimmer than reality usually allowed and the air was warm. Reed told Stella to sit down and went to the bar. The detective did as she was told, finding an old bench full of cushions in a more sparsely lit area of the room. Placing two generous glasses of whiskey on the table, Reed slid onto the bench next to her.

"Cheers" Stella said as they raised their glasses.

"I used to come here a lot when I was younger." Reed offered. "People tend not to intrude."

Leaning back with her glass in hand, Stella was visibly relaxing. Her muscles seemed to shift and she became just a little softer.

"I needed this." She said. "Thank you."

Reed turned slightly towards her and took a sip. "You're very welcome, I think it's working wonders for me too" she smiled.

"Oh, where are your girls tonight? Are you sure this is ok?" Stella suddenly panicked.

"They're with my mother, they're fine, this... is fine" Reed said as she gently lay a hand on the other woman's thigh. "Did you get another hotel yet?"

"No, I think I managed to push all sense of practicality out of my mind today. I suppose I'll just find a place, walk in and book a room later."

"No way. You're coming home with me tonight, well, I mean, you can stay at the house, it's not too far." Reed said, finishing the sentence into her glass.

Stella turned and brushed a lock of hair out of Reed's eyes. "I'd like that very much, and you know, you don't have to be nervous. I like being around you, that can be enough for now."

Reed looked deep into Stella's eyes, knowing full well that it would never be enough, but that it was a good place to start.

"You know, I think you might be the only person here I can talk to, at least the only one I want to talk to. I don't often find other people easy to spend time with." Stella explained. "But you, you're special I think."

Reed reached for Stella's hand, slowly finding and playing with her fingers. "I don't know about that. I do know that I will never meet anyone quite like you again. You see so much that people here, well they don't. Or maybe they can't because there's nowhere left for them to put that kind of pain, and I get the sense that you understand how hard that must be."

With that, their hands finally came to a comfortable standstill in Stella's lap as she looked into Reed's eyes, wondering how this woman had managed to work her out so perfectly.

"I think you might be right" she said as their faces drew closer, noses nearly touching.

Reed leaned in just a little more, close enough to brush Stella's lips with her own, willing them to never break apart. The kiss deepened as both of them continued moving into each other, forgetting everything but the taste and the feel of the person in front of them.

Slowly, they broke apart, still touching with hands on thighs and arms and waists. More languidly than before, Stella reached for her glass and drained it.

"Shall we?" She said, reaching for her jacket.

Back outside, the spell seemed to hold. Maybe it was the whiskey, maybe it was how exhausted they both were, whatever it was they both hoped it would last.


End file.
